<p>My daughter accepted both USD and UCLA admissions, both schools tuition is about $50k/year. USD will pay approximately $160k in tuition over the next 4 years and UCLA will only commit to $23k. UCLA has stated if she maintains her grades she will likely receive that award every year but of course there is no guarantee and just a few days ago they had an almost 10% tuition hike. I anticipate this will occur every year based on the state of CA economy. </p>
<p>My dilemna as a parent is obviously the huge financial discrepancy between the two. She is adamant that UCLA is the only school she wants and claims she can make it work. I have agreed to pay no more than $20k/year.</p>
<p>She wants to go on to vet school which is very competitive. She is convinced that graduating from UCLA is significant in order to get accepted. Vet school will be about $150k as well. </p>
<p>If she goes to USD she will have almost 75% of her education covered however UCLA is a top university. Any advise is appreciated.</p>
<p>And I am not sure of the question since you said you were only willing to pay $20k a year. Are you able to pay more? Are you looking to justify the decision? Are you letting her take out loans? Who is picking up vet school? And why only figuring this out now? </p>
<p>If you <em>were</em> willing to entertain her argument about differential odds of vet school at each campus as late as mid July, why wouldn’t you push the burden on your daughter to present you with this evidence, rather than you having to do the leg work (or get the rest on this board to do the work she should be doing?). </p>
<p>If she doesn’t have the ability to go on line, find reliable evidence and present the case to you, then she’s probably not going to vet school anyways.</p>
<p>If she goes to UCLA, how will she pay the rest of what is owed? Haven’t these schools already sent the first tuition bill for the fall semester? My D’s school sent the bill, and we started paying June 1! I would say it is very late to still be trying to make a decision, but I would go with the most affordable school. She will still get to vet school if she does really well at USD. You could have an issue where both schools drop your daughter, if they are already expecting payment and you haven’t figured things out on time!</p>
<p>It’s going to be $180k plus, with almost no scholarships available. (That’s resident costs.) That’s in addition to what she will already owe from undergraduate education. Starting salary is in the $60k-plus range. </p>
<p>If she is smart enough to get into UCLA and get such a nice package at USD, she is smart enough to do the math.</p>